Terrestrial and space-based manufacturing systems

ABSTRACT

A system including an additive manufacturing device to perform at least one additive manufacturing process and to include a prefabricated component during the at least one additive manufacturing process to accelerate build completion of a produced object. Another system and a method are also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/053,210 filed Sep. 21, 2014, and incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. The present application also incorporates the subjectmatter of the following patent applications in their entireties byreference: U.S. application Ser. No. 14/331,729 filed Jul. 15, 2014,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/893,286filed Oct. 21, 2013; U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/908,750 filedNov. 26, 2013; and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/931,568 filedJan. 25, 2014. The present application is also related to U.S.application Ser. No. 14/860,085 filed Sep. 21, 2015, now U.S. Pat. No.10,086,568 issued Oct. 2, 2018, which claims the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 62/053,220 filed Sep. 21, 2014; and U.S.application Ser. No. 14/860,170 filed Sep. 21, 2015, allowed Mar. 11,2020, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/053,215 filed Sep. 21, 2014, the subject matter of both beingincorporated herein by reference in their entireties. The presentapplication is also related to U.S. Provisional Application No.62/162,626 filed May 15, 2015, and incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure generally relates to manufacturing and, moreparticularly, to systems and methods for creating objects from viamodular assemblies containing multiple manufacturing devices.

BACKGROUND

Manufacturing of goods has traditionally been a multi-location, timeintensive process. Typically, raw materials are transformed intocomponents and sub components. These components are then transported toone or more additional facilities where they are turned into assembliesand finally into finished products. The finished product is packaged andshipped to a reseller, such as a retailer. In some instances, thefinished product is shipped directly to the end user. Due to the lengthof the supply chain, goods are, by and large, produced in large volumeswith little or no customization. Further, in order to reducetransportation costs and maximize sales volumes, goods are typicallyshipped to populated areas or other commercial centers.

Remote operations and space operations are impacted by the manufacturingsupply chain because availability of a wide variety of goods isdrastically reduced and supply of new goods is limited or nonexistent.In many cases, due to high cost, it is impractical to build newmanufacturing facilities in remote locations or in space.

Additive manufacturing and similar customizable, computer-controlledmanufacturing devices enable rapid on-site production of a part from araw material, such as a polymer filament feedstock.

Given the foregoing, systems and methods are needed which facilitateon-site or near-to-site production of goods which might otherwise beproduced by traditional manufacturing supply chains and facilities. Suchgoods may be produced by combinations of raw materials (e.g., feedstock)and stocks of sub-components located within the manufacturing system.

Additionally, systems and methods which produce multi-component,multi-material goods in space are needed.

SUMMARY

This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts. Theseconcepts are further described below in the Detailed Descriptionsection. This Summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of this disclosure's subject matter, nor is thisSummary intended as an aid in determining the scope of the disclosedsubject matter.

Embodiments relate to a system and method for creating an object fromvia a modular assembly containing multiple manufacturing processes. Thesystem comprises an additive manufacturing device to perform at leastone additive manufacturing process and to include a prefabricatedcomponent during the at least one additive manufacturing process toaccelerate build completion of a produced object.

The method comprises performing at least one additive manufacturingprocess with a manufacturing system to create at least a portion of aproduced object. The method also comprises placing a prefabricatedcomponent as a second portion of the produced object with a manipulator.The method further comprises removing the produced object from a buildsurface with the manipulator.

Another system comprises a manufacturing system for producing an objectwhere the manufacturing system comprises an additive manufacturingdevice to perform at least one additive manufacturing process creatingat least a portion of the object, and a manipulator to place aprefabricated component as a second portion of the object and furtherconfigured to remove the object from a build surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features and advantages of the present disclosure will become moreapparent from the Detailed Description set forth below when taken inconjunction with the drawings in which like reference numbers indicateidentical or functionally similar elements. Understanding that thesedrawings depict only typical embodiments and are not therefore to beconsidered to be limiting of its scope, the embodiments will bedescribed and explained with additional specificity and detail throughthe use of the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a self-contained goodsmanufacturing system including an additive manufacturing system;

FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodiment of the manufacturing systemdepicted in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the manufacturing systemdepicted in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are views of an embodiment of a manufacturing systemincluding an additive manufacturing system;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a self-contained goodsmanufacturing system including multiple additive manufacturing systems,the good transported on a lateral conveyor device within themanufacturing system;

FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an embodiment of the manufacturingsystem of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded view of an embodiment of the manufacturing systemdepicted in FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a tabletopself-contained goods manufacturing system including an additivemanufacturing system;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an additive manufacturingdevice;

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a recycler device;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a process for creatingand delivering a user-designated good;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a process forrepairing or reproducing a user-supplied object;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method for repairingor reproducing a user-supplied object; and

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of a computersystem useful for implementing an embodiment disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments are described herein with reference to the attached figureswherein like reference numerals are used throughout the figures todesignate similar or equivalent elements. The figures are not drawn toscale and they are provided merely to illustrate aspects disclosedherein. Several disclosed aspects are described below with reference tonon-limiting example applications for illustration. It should beunderstood that numerous specific details, relationships, and methodsare set forth to provide a full understanding of the embodimentsdisclosed herein. One having ordinary skill in the relevant art,however, will readily recognizes that the disclosed embodiments can bepracticed without one or more of the specific details or with othermethods. In other instances, well-known structures or operations are notshown in detail to avoid obscuring aspects disclosed herein. Theembodiments are not limited by the illustrated ordering of acts orevents, as some acts may occur in different orders and/or concurrentlywith other acts or events. Furthermore, not all illustrated acts orevents are required to implement a methodology in accordance with theembodiments.

Notwithstanding that the numerical ranges and parameters setting forththe broad scope are approximations, the numerical values set forth inspecific non-limiting examples are reported as precisely as possible.Any numerical value, however, inherently contains certain errorsnecessarily resulting from the standard deviation found in theirrespective testing measurements. Moreover, all ranges disclosed hereinare to be understood to encompass any and all sub-ranges subsumedtherein. For example, a range of “less than 10” can include any and allsub-ranges between (and including) the minimum value of zero and themaximum value of 10, that is, any and all sub-ranges having a minimumvalue of equal to or greater than zero and a maximum value of equal toor less than 10, e.g., 1 to 4.

Embodiments are directed to a self-contained manufacturing system andrelated methods Which facilitate on-site or near-to-site goodsproduction. Produced goods may be and desired good apparent to thoseskilled in the relevant art(s) after reading the description herein.Goods may be of one or multiple materials, contain electrical componentscreated by the manufacturing system or procured from a stock therein orsupplied by a user. Manufacturing systems in accordance with the presentdisclosure may be utilized in remote areas, urban environments, inspace, in close proximity to humans and other locations.

Manufacturing systems in accordance with an embodiment disclosed hereinmay include multiple manufacturing systems and at least one interchangemechanism which may enable the good to be created from multiplematerials via the multiple manufacturing systems. In an embodiment, theinterchange mechanism is a robotic arm which removes a created portionfrom one manufacturing system (e.g., a polymer-based additivemanufacturing device) and positions it within a second manufacturingsystem (e.g., a finishing device, a metal-based additive manufacturingdevice, etc.) for addition of material from the second manufacturingsystem. In another embodiment, the interchange mechanism is a conveyordevice (e.g., a conveyor belt). In yet another embodiment, themanufacturing system includes one or more robotic arms which selectivelyengage material bonding components (e.g., extruder heads) in order toadd the desired material to the good being created. The robotic arm mayhave such material bonding components integrated into its structure(e.g., a rotating drum or extruders), removable attached to one or morematerial bonding components stored within the manufacturing system orthe like.

Manufacturing systems may also include one or more devices whichseparate created parts or portions of parts from associated buildtables, thereby enabling assembly of the good and easy removal by auser.

When manufacturing systems, in accordance with an embodiment disclosedherein, are deployed in space (e.g., on a space station, at a base onanother celestial body) they enable a significant reduction of wastedlogistical mass, as well as a reduction in the volume of trash storage.Similarly, when deployed in, as a non-limiting example, a retailenvironment, supply chains may be shortened, resulting in less energy,money and time used in moving goods around.

The manufacturing systems described herein take a traditional machineshop capability and puts it into a small footprint. The manufacturingsystems may include any or all of traditional and additive manufacturingand assembly systems to be placed. This enables a wide range ofcomponents to be produced on demand, and on location. This device may becapable of replacing warehouses of materials and use raw form offeedstock to produce the same parts.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a manufacturing system that is atleast partially automated via techniques apparent to those skilled inthe relevant art(s) after reading the description herein. Humans may beinvolved in some portions of a good production process (e.g., moving apart from one portion of the system to another).

The manufacturing system may be self-contained or distributed in anotherfashion. Generally, if a component is needed, one facility is capable ofproducing a multi-material component which may have embedded parts aswell as simple, pre-supplied one-material parts. That is, in certainembodiments, the manufacturing system may include a stock, or bulkvolume, of one material in a specific configuration such as, but notlimited to, cubes, plates, or the like, which may be placed within thegood as it is being built in order to more quickly produce the good,rather than having a manufacturing component build up that portion viaother methods (e.g., additively manufacturing a bulk volume).

The manufacturing system may take the form of a vending type machine. Inan embodiment, the manufacturing system includes scanning components,enabling it to produce duplicate or modified versions, identify damagedportions, repair those portions, and/or add to the originally suppliedobject.

The size of the manufacturing system may be varied in order toaccommodate the desired application and integrate the necessaryequipment. Assembly components, such as a robotic arm or a pick andplace device may be used to embed components that are prefabricated.These prefabricated components can be of a wide variety includingcircuit boards, batteries, and common structural or electricalcomponents that share functionality with many parts that would beproduced. These components could also consist of wire used forembedding. As described above, the manufacturing system may include oneor more scanning components. Such scanners may be used to inspect thegood being created during creation and after it is completed. Where thegood does not satisfy production requirements it may be discarded ortransported to an integrated recycler. The integrated recycler may breakthe device down and produce filament or other feedstock which may bere-used by the manufacturing system.

In an embodiment, the manufacturing system may be configured to installas a series of components or as a modular unit in the express rackinterface utilized on the international Space Station. The system may beinstalled in the rack and operated remotely or directly. Thus, themanufacturing system described herein may be integrated into a platformfor terrestrial use or be placed outside of any platform and/or worktogether, but situated, independently.

The manufacturing system may include remote operation systems,tele-robotics components, robotic arms, and other type of manipulationequipment. The robotics may take components from subsystem to another ifnecessary and/or maneuver the part inside of the subsystem or system.

The manufacturing system, as disclosed herein, may be an all-in-onesystem or can consist of segmented subsystems. The entire facility maybe upgradeable and components may be swapped in and out for maintenanceor upgrading capabilities. In some instances, robotic elements canswitch end effectors to perform the correct manufacturing or assemblyprocess. Both traditional and additive manufacturing methods can be usedand could have additional components such as plating, polishing,coating, heat treating, sintering, annealing, etc. The arm can also doother necessary functions such as scanning, inspecting, and repairing.The system may use robotic arms or other elements in order to assemble apart or manipulate it during the manufacturing process.

The manufacturing system may create more than one good or type of goodat the same time. As a non-limiting example, where the manufacturingsystem includes multiple build areas within different constructiondevices (e.g., a metal additive manufacturing device and a polymeradditive manufacturing device), different goods may be simultaneouslycreated within each device. Where the goods or the portions beingcreated are smaller than the build surface or area, multiple goods maybe simultaneously created beside one another. Similarly, several of thesame type of production devices can also be used in this fashion or tobuild a single part in a compressed amount of time.

The manufacturing system, as disclosed herein, may include an enclosedbuild and assembly areas. The enclosed area may be filtered,temperature- and humidity-controlled and/or monitored in order toprotect people and equipment near the system and ensure that goods arecreated in ideal environmental conditions. Principles and devicesdisclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 14/331,729 filed Jul. 15, 2014,may be utilized in controlling the environment of manufacturing systemsdisclosed herein.

Air filtration and cleaning may be utilized to ensure safe operationsfor both terrestrial and non-terrestrial versions. Such systems and/orenvironmental control units may clean the harmful off-gassingconstituents from the atmosphere.

The manufacturing system may be controlled by on-board and/orcloud-based software including commanding, operating the subsystems(e.g., individual manufacturing devices), manipulating models formanufacture and repair and the like. Software developed will enable theseamless change out of system types inside the rack and define workflow“pipelines.” These pipelines will allow hardware to be interchangedwithout having to update the system's software. That is, individualcomponents and sub-systems will have defined inputs and outputprotocols, avoiding the need to reprogram the manufacturing systemitself when components are upgraded, added or removed. In this manner,the system will also be upgradeable without requiring upgrades to suchcomponents.

In an embodiment, the software controlling the manufacturing system is a“common software interface” with configurable reusable modular pipelineswhich define top level manufacturing processes so that when upgradingthe hardware, reworking the hardware is not necessary. Such anarchitecture may include scriptable modules, require that any physicaldevice that is plugged in works with the module that is made for thattype of device (all printers must work with the top level printeroperation module), define blocks of operations that are operations tothe hardware that is inside, enabling scriptability and swapability, andthe like.

In an embodiment, the manufacturing system includes a queuing andresource balancing and scheduling system that is aware of the currentresource usage of each component as well as of the overall system insideand of the predicted future utilization so it can create multiple goodsor portions of goods for one or more customers in order to optimizecompletion time and utilization of the overall device. Remote monitoringof all aspects of the system can be performed on a network level. In anembodiment, a centralized dashboard is provided and accessible fromcomputing devices via, for example, the global public Internet, canmonitor and get status updates, as well as determine what is beingprinted and shut off the rack if needed.

In an embodiment, computation for various activities may be handled vianetwork or cloud computing. More generally, other computing devices(on-site or remote) may be communicatively connected to themanufacturing system in order to facilitate its operation. Similarly,goods designs may be imported, cloud processing may be used to analyzescans, scans and other data may be sent for analysis and modification toindividuals in other locations.

Now referring to FIGS. 1-3, various views of a self-contained goodsmanufacturing system 100 including at least one additive manufacturingsystem 104 are shown. More specifically, FIG. 1 is a perspective view ofan embodiment of self-contained goods manufacturing system including anadditive manufacturing system, FIG. 2 is a front view of an embodimentof the manufacturing system depicted in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is anexploded view of an embodiment of the manufacturing system depicted inFIG. 1.

The manufacturing system 100 includes a housing 102. The housing 102 maybe an enclosure which contains other portions of system 100, allowingthe internal environmental control unit and other systems to regulatethe internal environment, purify the environment and/or protect usersand equipment from dangers associated with nominal and off-nominaloperations.

The system 100 may be operable via a user interface 114. The userinterface 114 may include a display, physical inputs, voice commandfunctionality and the like.

Goods, or products, may be created via one or more manufacturing devices104. In an embodiment, the manufacturing device 104 is an articulatingarm having feedstock supplied to it and removable end effectors 105. Theend effectors 105 may be accessed at an end effector storage area 106positioned within system 100. Feedstock is supplied from one or morefeedstock cartridges 124, thereby enabling the supply of a variety ofdifferent types of material and configurations of material (e.g.,different colors, thicknesses). Multiple feedstock cartridges 124 may becontained within a feedstock housing 126.

A good, or product, may be produced on movable build tray 110. The traymay be movably connected to a vertical lift 202. The lift 202 may movethe tray 110 from the build area to a finished good area 116. Thefinished good area 116 may be accessible by a user via, as anon-limiting example, sliding doors 118. In this manner, the user mayreceive completed good 120 without interacting with the manufacturingportions of system 100. The pre-fabricated part storage 112 may include,but is not limited to, computing components, prefabricated components,fasteners, and the like which may be added to the good being created viamanipulators 108 (shown as manipulators 108 a and b in FIG. 1).

Where a good is produced which does not conform with the usersrequirement, the creation fails, or the like, system 100 may include arecycler 122 which breaks all or portions of the rejected good down andconverts it back to feedstock for system 124. The recycler may also beused for old parts as a way to recycle them for use in developingreplacement parts. Thus, in an embodiment, individuals may providepolymer-based objects (e.g., a soda bottle) to system 100 which may thenbe recycled into feedstock via recycler 122. The recycler 122 isdescribed in greater detail with respect to FIG. 10.

The system 100 may include any appropriate manufacturing or finishingdevice suitable for the desired application. The system 100 may includepick and places, robotic mechanisms, and the like.

The system 100 may use a variety of materials to produce objects,including multi-material objects and/or objects having electroniccomponents. These materials include thermopolymers, metals, electronics,modular components and the like. The material may be resupplied byreplacing or refilling pre-fabricated part storage 112 or feedstockcartridges 124.

Now referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, views of manufacturing system 100 areshown. The system 100 may include multiple manufacturing devices 104operating in multiple build areas. For example, a first manufacturingdevice 104 may be a polymer-based additive manufacturing device 402. Asecond manufacturing device 104 may be a metal casting unit 404. An arm108 may be a pick and place mechanism for adding electronic componentsto the good being created. A scanner 405 may be included to inspect thegood during creation and after completion to ensure quality. Thoughmultiple manufacturing devices 104 are shown, in an embodiment, a singleadditive manufacturing device may be provided which can perform aplurality of additive manufacturing processes.

Supplemental robotic assemblies or other device (not shown) may beutilized to move a good from one area of the system 100 to another as itis being created. In an embodiment, the system 100 is configured toproduce a plurality of goods of the same type. In this manner, thesystem 100 may serve as a small-footprint manufacturing plant.

Referring now to FIGS. 5-7, various views of self-contained goodsmanufacturing system 100 including multiple additive manufacturingsystems 104, the good transported on a lateral conveyor device 202within manufacturing system 100 is shown. More specifically, FIG. 5 is aperspective view of an embodiment of a self-contained goodsmanufacturing system including multiple additive manufacturing systems,the good transported on a lateral conveyor device within themanufacturing system, FIG. 6 is a top perspective view of an embodimentof the manufacturing system of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is an exploded view ofan embodiment of the manufacturing system depicted in FIG. 5. The system100 may have a variety of configurations, including the horizontalconfiguration depicted in FIGS. 5-7 as compared to the verticalconfiguration depicted in FIGS. 1-3. The system 100 may include alateral conveyor 202 which transports good between one or moremanufacturing devices 104 and to finished good area 116 which complete.Thus, a configuration of the system is non-limiting.

Referring now to FIG. 8, a perspective view of a tabletop self-containedgoods manufacturing system 100 including additive manufacturing system104 is shown. In an embodiment, the system 100 may comprise a tabletopdevice configured to produce, as a non-limiting example, handheld goods.The system 100 may include an extruder 118 positioned by a traversesystem 804. The goods, or products, being produced may be monitored viaa pair of scanners 405 a and 405 b mounted on vertical tracks 802. Assuggested by the pair of scanners 405 a, 405 b in FIG. 8, high measuresof security may be implemented to protect any costly material andcomponents inside the system 100.

In an embodiment, portions of the system 100 which may be prone toincreased wear and components that require replenishment may be modularin nature to ensure fast and uncomplicated maintenance procedures. Thesystem 100 may be designed to be extremely rugged and/or able towithstand all aspects associated with an environment in which the system100 is intended to operate. As a non-limiting example, the system 100,when intended for use in space, the system may be extremely rugged towithstand spaceflight (launch, landing, installations). Whereas in otherembodiments, the system 100 may be rugged to withstand natural elements(wind, rain, snow, etc.).

Referring now to FIG. 9, a block diagram of an exemplary additivemanufacturing device 900 is shown. In an embodiment, an additivemanufacturing device 900 is configured to produce goods or portions ofgoods using filament supplied by feedstock cartridge 124. The additivemanufacturing device 900 may be configured to utilize polymer filament,metal filament, filament made from a mixture of materials, and the like.The additive manufacturing device 900 comprises a filament extruder 902positionable in two axes (e.g., x and y axes). The additivemanufacturing device 900 may be a fused deposition-type device or anyother additive manufacturing device apparent to those skilled in therelevant art after reading the description herein, including, but notlimited to, a stereolithographic device, an electron beam freeformfabrication device, and a selective laser sintering device. The additivemanufacturing device 900 further comprises a build platform 904positionable in a third axis (e.g., the z-axis). The build platform 904is configured to support goods as they are being constructed.

The build platform 904 may be a build tray 110. In an embodiment, thebuild platform 904 may be omitted. The build platform 904 may be asupport which holds another part, thereby enabling additivemanufacturing device 900 to add additional portions (i.e., layers) tothe part being held. Actuators, though not shown, may be attached to thefilament extruder 902 and the build platform 904. In an embodiment, theadditive manufacturing device 900 comprises one actuator for each axis.

The filament extruder 902 may be adapted to create a desired good orportion of good on build platform 904 via deposition of a polymer orother material. Deposition may be done in an additive manner, such as alayer-wise or raster pattern. The positions of the filament extruder 902and the build platform 904 during construction may be controlled by abuild control module 906, electrically connected to each actuator. Thebuild control module 906 may be software, hardware, or a combination ofsoftware and hardware. The build control module 906 may be configured tocause the desired part (e.g., a support structure) to be produced byadditive manufacturing device 900.

The filament extruder 902 is connected to a feedstock source 124. Theenvironmental control 910 may be configured to regulate the environmentof additive manufacturing device 900 and/or the surrounding system 100.

In an embodiment, the environmental control 910 may comprise at leastone fan, a temperature regulation device (e.g., a heater, an airconditioning unit), and a filter. The environmental control 910 mayregulate one or more of: temperature, humidity, and air quality withinadditive manufacturing device 900, thereby preventing outgassing andcontamination of the environment in which additive manufacturing device900 is located during operation.

Referring now to FIG. 10, a block diagram of recycler 122 is shown. Therecycler 122 may be based on the recycler disclosed in U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/162,626 filed May 15, 2015, and incorporated hereinby reference. The recycler 122 is configured to accept materials such astrash, broken or obsolete parts, in-situ materials, and the like andconvert the materials to a feedstock such as a filament. The recyclerdevice 122 comprises a material control system 1002, a material sizereducer 1004, an extruder 1006, and a spooling assembly 1010. Therecycler device 122 may further comprise heating elements 1008, controlsystem 1018, and environmental control 1020. Some or all of the portionsof recycler device 122 may be contained within housing 1022.

The material control system 1002 drives material towards desiredlocations in the recycler device 122. The material control system 1002may comprise direct or indirect airflow systems (e.g., fans, aircompressors) pressure fed systems, or physical contacting devices inorder to drive material through recycler device 100.

The size reducer 1004 may be provided to reduce a size of materialsinserted into recycler device 122 from their original size to a shapeand size suitable for use in extruder 1006. The size reducer 1004 mayshred, grind, cut, and/or pulverize material into portions small enoughfor utilization by extruder 1006.

The extruder 1006 receives material from size reducer 1004, furthermanipulates the size and shape of the material, heats the material viaone or more attached heating elements 1008 and pushes the pliable ormolten material through a die. The material may be moved through theextruder 1006 via an auger, a piston, another mechanism apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art(s) or a combination thereof.

The heating element 1008 may heat the barrel portion of extruder 106,causing the material within to reach a deformable state. The heatingelements 1008 may be controlled by control system 1018 which monitorsthe temperature of the material within extruder 1008 and maintains thetemperature at a desired level.

The spooling assembly 1010 may be configured to receive filament, orfeedstock, as it exits the extruder 1006 at die and spool filament ontoa spool suitable for utilization by the additive manufacturing device900. The spooling assembly 1010 may comprise a spooling mechanism 1012,such as a rotating wheel configured to receive and spool filament. Oneor more portions of spooling assembly may be controlled by spoolingcontrol 1014. The spooling control 114 may be controlled by controlsystem 1018.

The environmental control 1020 may be configured to regulate theenvironment of recycler device 122. The recycler device 122 may alsocomprise a housing 1022 which contains each element of recycler device122, enabling control of the environment of recycler device 122 byenvironmental control 1020.

Referring now to FIG. 11, a flowchart depicting an embodiment of aprocess 1100 for creating and delivering a user-designated good isshown. As shown, the process, or method, 1100 may comprise adesign/select step, at 1110. The design/select step, at 1110, providesfor determining a product to make with at least one of a plurality ofadditive manufacturing processes located within an enclosure to controlan environmental condition within the additive manufacturing processarea. Determining the product may comprise scanning a prior product witha scanning device to ascertain the product to make or selecting theproduct to make with a user interface that has access to a database of aplurality of products.

A produce step, at 1120 is shown. The produce step, at 1120, providesfor producing the product with at least one of the plurality of additivemanufacturing processes. A deliver step, at 1130 is shown. The deliverystep, at 1130, provides the product to a user outside of the enclosurewhere the environmental condition is controlled for the at least one ofthe plurality of additive manufacturing processes. This is furtheraccomplished by transporting the product with a conveying system, to anarea outside of the enclosure where the environmental condition iscontrolled for the at least one of the plurality of additivemanufacturing processes. An assembly step, at 1140, is provided. Theassembly step may be provided when the product is made of more than onematerial. The assembly step may include transporting the product tomultiple locations within the system 100 during manufacture and prior todelivery, at step 1130. An inspect step, at 1150, is also provided toprovide for inspecting the product prior to delivery, at 1130. Asdisclosed above, the inspect step, at 1150, may be accomplished with ascanner to ensure that the product meets a quality standard for theproduct.

The process 1100 may utilize the system 100 disclosed herein to producea desired good. The system 100 may be designed to focus on retail items,making them available digital, and function as a vending type machine. Adigital object may be selected and a physical item will be constructed.In another embodiment, the digital object is designed from an existingobject. Items that may be produced include hardware items such as, butnot limited to, nails, screws, piping, fixtures, as well as tools suchas hammers, screw drivers, wrenches, pliers, etc. Also, it is able toproduce consumer products and items with electrical components. Thesystem 100 may be of a size that can fit into a variety of locationsincluding commercial stores, homes, and integrated into vehicles such ascars, trucks, boats, aircraft, spacecraft, etc. The user interface 114may be designed to accommodate both adults and children's understandingon how system 100 functions.

Referring now to FIG. 12, a flowchart depicting an exemplary process1200 for repairing or reproducing a user-supplied part is shown. Theprocess 1200 may utilize the system 100 to fix, repair and/or reproducea desired good.

An object, at 1210, may be placed into a portion of system 100 in orderfor it to be scanned, at 1220. The object may be a broken component. Thescan may be used to either create a replacement part or to fix thescanned component. In another embodiment, a mobile communications devicemay be used to scan and/or order a component. In another embodiment, theinspect step, at 1150, may detect an error with a recently constructedcomponent.

A modify step, at 1230, is provided Where the system can correct thescanned digital image. As a non-limiting example, if the scanned digitalimage is missing a section of the image, based on the image captured,the missing section may be extrapolated and created by the system 100. Asimilar approach may be utilized to fix a component, as disclosed below.This may also be used to fix a scanned component. In another embodiment,through the user interface, a user can simply look up a replacementcomponent in a database, at 1220. The database may comprise a pluralityof digital images of components, goods, products that can be made withthe system 100.

In one embodiment, at a produce component step, at 1240, the systemproduces the component, good, or product. The component is inspected, at1150 then delivered, at 1150, or simply delivered, at 1130.

If the system 100 is being used to fix a broken component, the system100 applies an appropriate additive manufacturing process to fix thecomponent, at 1250. The component is inspected, at 1150 then delivered,at 1150, or simply delivered, at 1130.

Thus, as disclosed above, quality control will be also an aspect of thesystem 100. Both the process 1100 and the process 1200 may include aninspection step, at 1150. Determined based upon the process, aninspection system will verify the quality of the produced good andeither accept or reject it. Rejected pieces may be sent to the recycler122 for repurposing. One method of quality control for duplication ofcomponents involves overlaying the scan of the good that is to beduplicated with the final good or good throughout the manufacturingprocess. The overlay will show the variation or difference from thedesired good and can be fed through the user's defined tolerancepreference. This could function as follows: put object on tray; scan it;remove part; print part in same spot; scan as printing to maintainaccuracy; scan final part with overlay of original scan; compare finalscan and scan of initial part; generate accuracy number; job done ifaccuracy is sufficiently high; rejected if not accuracy is sufficient.

In an embodiment, the system 100 may accept payment in any electronicmedium as well as direct cash supply.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart depicting an embodiment of a method for repairingor reproducing a user-supplied object. The method 1300 comprisesperforming at least one additive manufacturing process with amanufacturing system to create at least a portion of a produced object,at 1310. The method 1300 further comprises placing a prefabricatedcomponent as a second portion of the produced object with a manipulator,at 1320. The method 1300 further comprises removing the produced objectfrom a build surface with the manipulator, at 1330.

The method 1300 may further comprise inspecting the produced object witha scanner to ensure that the produced object meets a quality standardfor the object, at 1340. The method 1300 may further comprise scanning aprior object with a scanning device to ascertain at least onecharacteristic to include in the produced object, at 1350. The methodmay further comprise recycling at least one of a prior object and theproduced object to convert into feedstock for later use during the atleast one additive manufacturing process, at 1360 and/or recycling theproduced object to convert into feedstock for later use during at leastone of the plurality of additive manufacturing processes, at 1370.

Though the steps in the method are illustrated in sequence, the sequencemay be performed in other orders whereas this sequence is simplyprovided to explain steps that may be utilized, with no requirement tofollowing the precise sequence illustrated. Furthermore, each ofdependent steps, 1340-1370 may be performed in combination with orwithout the other independent steps. Showing these steps in sequence isdone simply to provide for a possible, non-limiting visualization.

Referring to FIG. 14, a block diagram illustrating an exemplary computersystem useful for implementing an embodiment is shown. FIG. 14 setsforth an illustrative computer system that may be used to implementcomputing functionality 1400, which in all cases represents one or morephysical and tangible processing mechanisms. Computing functionality1300 may comprise volatile and non-volatile memory, such as RAM 1402 andROM 1404, as well as one or more processing devices 1406 (e.g., one ormore central processing units (CPUs), one or more graphical processingunits (GPUs), and the like). Computing functionality 1400 alsooptionally comprises various media devices 1408, such as a hard diskmodule, an optical disk module, and so forth. Computing functionality1400 may perform various operations identified above when the processingdevice(s) 1406 execute(s) instructions that are maintained by memory(e.g., RAM 1402, ROM 1404, and the like).

More generally, instructions and other information may be stored on anycomputer readable medium 1410, including, but not limited to, staticmemory storage devices, magnetic storage devices, and optical storagedevices. The term “computer readable medium” also encompasses pluralstorage devices. In all cases, computer readable medium 1410 representssome form of physical and tangible entity. By way of example, and notlimitation, computer readable medium 1410 may comprise “computer storagemedia” and “communications media.”

“Computer storage media” comprises volatile and non-volatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. Computer storage media maybe, for example, and not limitation, RAM 1402, ROM 1404, EEPROM, Flashmemory, or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks(MD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape,magnetic disk storage, or other magnetic storage devices, or any othermedium which can be used to store the desired information and which canbe accessed by a computer.

“Communication media” typically comprise computer readable instructions,data structures, program modules, or other data in a modulated datasignal, such as carrier wave or other transport mechanism. Communicationmedia may also comprise any information delivery media. The term“modulated data signal” means a signal that has one or more of itscharacteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encode informationin the signal. By way of example, and not limitation, communicationmedia comprises wired media such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared, and otherwireless media. Combinations of any of the above are also includedwithin the scope of computer readable medium.

Computing functionality 1400 may also comprise an input/output module1412 for receiving various inputs (via input modules 1414), and forproviding various outputs (via one or more output modules). Oneparticular output module mechanism may be a presentation module 1316 andan associated GUI 1418. Computing functionality 1400 may also includeone or more network interfaces 1420 for exchanging data with otherdevices via one or more communication conduits 1422. In someembodiments, one or more communication buses 1424 communicatively couplethe above-described components together.

Communication conduit(s) 1422 may be implemented in any manner (e.g., bya local area network, a wide area network (e.g., the Internet), and thelike, or any combination thereof). Communication conduit(s) 1422 mayinclude any combination of hardwired links, wireless links, routers,gateway functionality, name servers, and the like, governed by anyprotocol or combination of protocols.

Alternatively, or in addition, any of the functions described herein maybe performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logiccomponents. For example, without limitation, illustrative types ofhardware logic components that may be used include Field-programmableGate Arrays (FPGAs), Application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs),Application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems(SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), and the like.

Thus, the embodiment disclosed above meet the above-identified needs byproviding systems, and related methods which produce finished parts atan on-site or near-to-site location. Such systems contain multipleadditive manufacturing devices, feedstock, and other sub-components,thereby enabling the production of a wide range of physical goods.

In an embodiment, a manufacturing system may be enclosed and may containadditive manufacturing devices which produce goods from metal, polymers,other materials, and/or combinations thereof. A user may select thedesired good from an integrated user interface (e.g., touchscreen,keyboard, voice command, etc.). Upon selection, the self-containedmanufacturing system begins producing the desired good according tocreation instructions. Portions of the good may be produced by multiplemanufacturing devices. The system may contain one or more movementmechanisms (e.g., robotic grappling arms, conveyor belts) which move thegood being created from one additive manufacturing device to another asneeded in order to create the part. In another embodiment, the goodbeing created may remain stationary and multiple additive manufacturingdevices are iteratively moved into a position where the device mayconstruct the necessary portion of the good the device is suitable for.This may be accomplished by having a single articulating arm withmultiple feedstock delivery mechanisms (e.g., a feedstock channel)connected thereto or positioned therein which engages for use multipleextrusion heads.

Once the part is created, it may be deposited into a finished good area,accessible by the user. In an embodiment, the finished good area and theUI are the only user-accessible portions of the manufacturing system,thereby making the device safe for use around users, particularlyunskilled users or consumers.

The manufacturing system may be adapted for use in microgravity, oncelestial bodies (e.g., the Moon, asteroids, other planets), in space,in remote locations, in locations where unskilled individuals willinteract with the system, and other locations that will be apparent tothose skilled in the relevant art(s) after reading the descriptionherein.

The manufacturing system may produce a wide variety of goods,components, or products. The goods may be produced simultaneously formultiple users. The manufacturing system may be low-profile relative totraditional manufacturing facilities. The manufacturing system may beenclosed and approximately the size of vending machine. Themanufacturing system may be smaller (e.g., table top-sized) or larger(e.g., the size of a room or small house). In this manner, manufacturingdevices may be deployed in a variety of areas including remote areas,retail stores, urban areas, and the like, thereby essentially placing anentire warehouse or manufacturing supply chain in one device whichproduces the goods on demand. Such devices are automated, producinggoods as the need arises.

This overcomes the logistics of manufacturing. With respect to spaceapplications, on-site production of more complex goods is facilitated ina safe and streamlined manner. Manufacturing systems in accordance withthe present disclosure may be deployed at lower cost and in locationswhich could not previously be considered.

The terms “module” and “component” as used herein generally representsoftware, firmware, hardware, or combinations thereof. In the case of asoftware implementation, the module or component represents program codethat performs specified tasks when executed on a processor. The programcode may be stored in one or more computer readable memory devices. Thefeatures of the present disclosure described herein areplatform-independent, meaning that the techniques can be implemented ona variety of commercial computing platforms having a variety ofprocessors (e.g., set-top box, desktop, laptop, notebook, tabletcomputer, personal digital assistant (PDA), mobile telephone, smarttelephone, gaming console, and the like).

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.Furthermore, to the extent that the terms “including,” “includes,”“having,” “has,” “with,” or variants thereof are used in either thedetailed description and/or the claims, such terms are intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising.” Moreover, unlessspecifically stated, any use of the terms first, second, etc., does notdenote any order or importance, but rather the terms first, second,etc., are used to distinguish one element from another.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which embodiments of the inventionbelongs. It will be further understood that terms, such as those definedin commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaningthat is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant artand will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal senseunless expressly so defined herein.

While various disclosed embodiments have been described above, it shouldbe understood that they have been presented by way of example only, andnot limitation. Numerous changes, omissions and/or additions to thesubject matter disclosed herein can be made in accordance with theembodiments disclosed herein without departing from the spirit or scopeof the embodiments. Also, equivalents may be substituted for elementsthereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments.In addition, while a particular feature may have been disclosed withrespect to only one of several implementations, such feature may becombined with one or more other features of the other implementations asmay be desired and advantageous for any given or particular application.Furthermore, many modifications may be made to adapt a particularsituation or material to the teachings of the embodiments withoutdeparting from the scope thereof.

Further, the purpose of the foregoing Abstract is to enable the U.S.Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally and especially thescientists, engineers and practitioners in the relevant art(s) who arenot familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thistechnical disclosure. The Abstract is not intended to be limiting as tothe scope of the present disclosure in any way.

Therefore, the breadth and scope of the subject matter provided hereinshould not be limited by any of the above explicitly describedembodiments. Rather, the scope of the embodiments should be defined inaccordance with the following claims and their equivalents.

What we claim is:
 1. A system comprising; an additive manufacturingdevice configured to perform a polymer-based additive manufacturingprocess to apply a polymer and to perform a metal casting additivemanufacturing process to apply metallic feedstock to create a firstportion of the object; a robotic arm in communication with the additivemanufacturing device to place a bulk volume component as a secondportion of the object in contact with the first portion at any locationabout the first portion to accelerate a build process during at leastone of the polymer-based additive manufacturing process and the metalcasting additive manufacturing process; a plurality of end effectorsinterchangeably attachable to an end of the robotic arm wherein at leasta first end effector of the plurality of end effectors comprises agripper device to place bulk volume component, a second end effector ofthe plurality of end effectors comprises a filament extruder to applythe polymer and a third end effector of the plurality of end effectorscomprises melting device to apply the metallic feedstock; and a scannerdevice, attached to the robotic arm, configured to inspect the objectduring creation and after completion as the robotic arm is moved aboutthe object.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the bulk volumecomponent comprises at least one of a same material being applied duringthe at least one additive manufacturing process, a different material,and a bulk volume with an embedded part that comprises at least one of acircuit board, battery, a wire, a common structural component thatshares functionality with at least a portion of one of the producedobject, and an electrical component that shares functionality with atleast a portion of the produced object.
 3. The system according to claim1, further comprising an interchange mechanism to enable the producedobject to be created from multiple materials applied to the producedobject via more than the at least one additive manufacturing process bytransporting the produced object to a plurality of extruder heads, eachproducing a different material.
 4. The system according to claim 1,further comprising a conveyor belt to transport the produced object froma build area where the at least one additive manufacturing processoccurs to a retrieval area where the product is retrieved.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising a conveyor belt to transportthe produced object during production from a first build area for the atleast one additive manufacturing process to a second build area for asecond additive manufacturing process.
 6. The system according to claim1, further comprising a recycler to convert the produced object intofeedstock for use with the at least one additive manufacturing process,wherein the recycler comprises a heating element, a material controlsystem, a material size reducer, an extruder to create recycledfeedstock for use with the additive manufacturing device, a spoolingassembly to hold the recycled feedstock.
 7. The system according toclaim 1, further comprising at least one storage area to hold the bulkvolume component prior to placement of the bulk volume component as thesecond portion of the object by the robotic arm.
 8. The system accordingto claim 1, wherein the bulk volume component comprises a bulk volume ofat least one of a same material being applied with the at least one ofthe polymer-based additive manufacturing process and the metal castingadditive manufacturing process and a different material.
 9. The systemaccording to claim 1, further comprising an environmental control unitto regulate an environment to reduce contamination and outgassing atbuild area of the additive manufacturing device.
 10. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the build area comprises a tray movablefrom the build area to a product receiving area when the additivemanufacturing process is complete with at least one of a conveyor beltand the robotic arm.
 11. The system according to claim 1, furthercomprising a housing to separate the build area during the at least oneadditive manufacturing processes from a user interface and a productreceiving area.
 12. The manufacturing system according to claim 1,further comprising a housing to enclose the additive manufacturingdevice and the robotic arm from an outer environment.
 13. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein a fourth end effector of the plurality ofend effectors is configured to provide for plating, a fifth end effectorof the plurality of end effectors is configured to provide forpolishing, a sixth end effector of the plurality of end effectors isconfigured to provide for coating, a seventh end effector of theplurality of end effectors is configured to provide for heat treating,an eighth end effector of the plurality of end effectors is configuredto provide for sintering, and a ninth end effector of the plurality ofend effectors is configured to provide for annealing.
 14. The methodaccording to claim 1, further comprising a processor, withnon-transitory computer-readable medium encoded with a computer programproduct loadable into a memory of the processor in communication withthe additive manufacturing device and the robotic to control both theadditive manufacturing process and the robotic arm to place the bulkvolume component at a location designated for the bulk volume componentduring the at least one additive manufacturing process.
 15. Themanufacturing system according to claim 14, further comprising a userinterface in communication with the processor to receive an input todetermine the object to be manufactured with the additive manufacturingdevice.
 16. A method comprising: performing a polymer-based additivemanufacturing process with an additive manufacturing system to apply apolymer and performing a metal casting additive manufacturing processwith the additive manufacturing system to apply metallic feedstock tocreate a first portion of an object; placing a bulk volume component asa second portion of the produced object in contact with the firstportion with a robotic arm that is in communication with the additivemanufacturing device to accelerate a build process during at least oneof the polymer-based additive manufacturing process and the metalcasting additive manufacturing process, wherein an end of the roboticarm received at least one end effector of a plurality of interchangeablyattachable end effectors wherein at least a first end effector of theplurality of end effectors comprises a gripper device to place bulkvolume component, a second end effector of the plurality of endeffectors comprises a filament extruder to apply the polymer and a thirdend effector of the plurality of end effectors comprises melting deviceto apply the metallic feedstock; and inspecting the object duringcreation and after completion as the robotic arm is moved about theobject with a scanner device attached to the robotic arm.
 17. The methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising inspecting the produced objectwith a scanner to ensure that the produced object meets a qualitystandard for the object.
 18. The method according to claim 16, furthercomprising scanning a prior object with a scanning device to ascertainat least one characteristic to include in the produced object.
 19. Themethod according to claim 18, further comprising recycling at least oneof a prior object and the produced object to convert into feedstock forlater use during the at least one additive manufacturing process. 20.The method according to claim 16, further comprising recycling theproduced object to convert into feedstock for later use during at leastone of the plurality of additive manufacturing processes.
 21. The methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising regulating an environment withan environmental control unit to reduce contamination and outgassingwhere at least one of the additive manufacturing processes is applied tothe object.
 22. The method according to claim 16, further comprisingenabling the produced object to be created from multiple materialsapplied to the produced object via more than the at least one additivemanufacturing process with an interchange mechanism by transporting theproduced object to a plurality of extruder heads, each producing adifferent material.
 23. The method according to claim 16, furthercomprising transporting the produced object with a conveyor belt from abuild area where the at least one additive manufacturing process occursto a retrieval area where the product is retrieved.
 24. The methodaccording to claim 16, further comprising transporting the producedobject with a conveyor belt during production from a first build areafor the polymer-based additive manufacturing to a second build area forthe metal casting additive manufacturing process.